‘When the walls come down, how do we move forward from here?’—is a question that most of us are musing about right now. Do we relish our newfound freedom by enduring long check-ins just to jet-set across the planet? Or should we exercise caution? Meekness? Choose staycations in the unexplored backyards of our country over far-flung trips to the dramatic landscapes of Iceland, for instance.
It’s hard to imagine the prospects of travel after the restrictions have been lifted. I say, different, but good. After being stuck in our homey realms for so long, this is an opportunity to rejoin the world with a gentler approach. Putting ‘holistic’ into our travel dictionaries as we navigate destinations in search of building more positive and meaningful connections.
As I spent the last few days flicking through my travel photo archives in a bid to snoop on holidays I can never take, also to ‘spark joy’, the photos of my most recent trip to Lisbon catch my eye. A fortuitous journey that I embarked on, right before the full-blown effects of the Covid-19 pandemic had rolled out; I’m struck by how much of the trip I had pledged to memory.
Prior to the trip, I had pumped myself up to sample the best of the best, but unlike so many of these foodie cities that I’ve visited, the Portuguese city’s offerings did not set me up for mediocrity. Quite contrarily, it bowled me over. If circumstance allows, once the coast is clear, I’m making a beeline for Portugal again. Hopefully with the partner in tow, if my eventual migration to France pans out. But that’s a story left for another day.
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